Rail-bond.



No. 802,463. PATENTED 001*. 24, 1905. G. A. MEAD & 0. R. STURDEVANT.RAIL 130m).

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1904.

SATES PATN GEORGE A. MEAD AND CHARLES R. STURDEVANT, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO;SAID STURDEVANT ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO,A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

RAIL-"BOND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 22, 1904. Serial No. 237,868-

No. 802,463. Patented Oct. 24, 1905.

T 107w? it y (BOW/067%! bond-terminal of the type shown in Fig. 2.

Be it known that we, GEORGE A. MEAD and Fig. 16 is a top edge view ofthe form of ter- CHARLES R. STURDEVANT, citizens of the minal shown inFig. 15. Fig. 17 is a broken United States, residing at Mansfield, inthe view in section on the line a a, Fig. 15.

5 county of Richland and State of Ohio, have In the use of rail-bondsfor bonding streetinvented a new and useful Improvement in car rails,especially such rails as are employed 6o Rail-Bonds, of which-thefollowing is a speciin streets over which vehicles, carriages,peiication. destrians, or the like travel and where the This inventionrelates to rail-bonds. bond-terminal is soldered or otherwise secured IOThe object of the invention is to provide a to the side surface of therail-tread, it frerail-bond of such construction, especially at quentlyhappens that a wheel of a carriage, the terminals thereof, which areapplied to wagon, or the like, or the foot of a horse, &c., the rail orother part to be bonded, as to avoid in passing over the rail comes incontact with being knocked or torn from the rail by accior strikes theupper edge of the bond-termi- 5 dental contact with wheels or the feetof horses nal and tears it loose from its connection to or 01' the likepassing along the street. with the rail, thereby seriously interfering Afurther object of the invention is to prowith and impairing the bondconnection of the vide a rail-bond having a terminal arranged road or ofthe rails to each other. It is among to present a sharpened or knifeedge toward the special purposes of our present invention 20 the treadsurface of the rail to which the bond to avoid this difficulty, while atthe same time is to be applied. providing a sufficient bearing-surfacefor at- 7 5 Other objects of the invention will appear tachment of thebond-terminal to the rail. more fully hereinafter. In carrying out ourinvention we propose The invention consists, substantially, in the to soform the bond terminal as that when it 5 construction, combination,location, and aris applied to the side surface of the rail-treadrangement of parts, all as will be more fully in the ordinary manner andsoldered or other- So hereinafter set forth, as shown in the accomwiseaffiXed thereto it will present a knife or panying drawings, and finallypointed out in sharpened edge upwardly or toward the treadtheappendedclaims. surface of the rail and with a flattened sur- 3Referring to the accompanying drawings face to be applied to the rail,so as to afford and to the various views and reference-signs ample areaof contacting surface for applica- 5 appearing thereon. Figure 1 is aView in side tion of the terminal to the side of the railelevation of arail-bond constructed in accordtread surface. In this manner we avoidthe an ce with the principles of our invention. Fig. objection of allthe terminal presenting an en- 35 2 is asimilar View of a different formof bond larged or squared upper surface where it is embodying .theprinciples of our invention. liable to be struck and torn loose from itsfas- Fig. 3 is a broken view, in transverse section, tening to the railby a wheel or the hoof of a showing the application to arailof a bondemhorse or other animal passing along the roadbodyingtheprinciples ofourinvention. Figs. way, the sharpened or thin upper edge of the 4 A. 5,6, 7, 8, and 9 are views in transverse secbond-terminal presenting acomparatively littion of various forms of bond-terminals emtle, orpractically no, surface which would be braced within the spiritand scopeof our invenliable to be struck by a wheel, hoof, or foot tion. Fig. 10is a top edge view of the form of or to be torn loose from itsattachment to the bond-terminal shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 11 is a sidesurface of the rail-tread. This idea may 45 view in front elevation ofthe form of bondbe accomplished and carried out in many speterminalshown in transverse section in Fig. 8. cifically different ways, and wehave shown I00 Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, showing variousforms of bond-terminals embodying the form of bond-terminal illustratedin crossthe principles of our invention. section in Fig. 6. Fig. 13 is atop edge view In the drawings reference-sign A designates 5 of thebond-terminal shown in Fig. 12. Fig. a rail or other part to be bonded,B a portion 14 is a view in side elevation of a form of of the ordinaryfish-plate applied thereto, and 5 bond-terminal having sharpened edgesand O a form of rail-bond selected for the purends of the type shown inFig. 2. Fig. 15 is poses of illustrating the practical application asimilar view showing a different form of of our invention.

It is obvious that the particular form or type of bond isimmaterial solong as it is provided with terminals for application flatwise againstthe surface to be bonded. For instance, in Fig. 1 we have shown alaminated bond C, having terminal feet D, the laminated body of the bondintermediate the feet being formed into loop shape. In Fig. 2 we haveShown a form of bond the body portion E of which is laminated and formedinto substantially U shape and having terminalsF extending transverselyacross the ends of the body portion. In practice we prefer to form thebond-terminals of solid homogeneous masses, though we do not desire tobe limited in this respect. In the form of terminal shown in Figs. 1 and2 said terminals are of substantially wedge shape in cross-section, asshown in Fig. 3, the outlines orbounding-surfaces of the bond-terminalin cross-section forming substantially a right-angled triangle, with itsapex G presented toward and lying adjacent to the tread-surface of therail and its hypotenuse forming the exterior surface of the terminal andone of its rectangular surfaces lying flatwise against the side surfaceof the rail-tread. By reason of this construction the bond-terminalpresents a knifeedge upwardly-lying against the side surface of therail-tread and its exterior surface forming in contour a continuation ofthe surface of the rail to which the bond is applied, thereby avoidingthe formation of square shoulders or surfaces for a wheel, hoof, or footto strike against, whereby the bond may be detached from its engagementwith the rail. It is not necessary, however, that the bond-terminal beof triangular shape in crosssection. For instance, a terminal D is shownin cross-section in Fig. 4, wherein the outer surface (indicated at H)is slightly concaved, the terminal, however, presenting a sharpened orknife edge G upwardly toward the treadsurface of the rail; and in Fig. 5we have shown a terminal D presenting the sharpened or knife edge Galong its upper edge, but the outer surface H thereof being convexed;and in Figs. 7 and 10 we have shown a bond-terminal D presenting asharpened or knife edge G along the upper edge thereof, but beveled, asat H to form the sharpened edge G, the body of the terminal beinggenerally of rectangular shape. In Figs. 8 and 11 we have shown aterminal D beveled to form an upper sharpened edge G and also a lowersharpened or beveled edge G, the outer surface of the bond being beveledboth upwardly, as at H and downwardly, as at H, leaving the innersurface of the terminal plane for application to the surface of the railto be bonded, and this characteristic obtains throughout the variousforms of our invention illustrated. In

Fig. 9 we have shown a form of bond-terminal D in which both an upperand a lower sharpened edge G G is formed; but the outer surfaces H H,which produce the sharpened edges G G, are concaved. In Figs. 6, 12, and13 we have shown another form of bond-terminal D which is plano-convexin cross-section, thereby forming a sharpened upper edge G, as well as asharpened lower edge G the outer surface H of the terminal beingconvexed, while the inner surface of the terminal is plane forapplication against the surface to be bonded. In Figs. 15, 16, and 17 wehave shown the plano-convex form of terminal as applied to the terminalsF" of the form of bond shown in Fig. 2, the outer surface of theterminal being convexed, while the inner surface is plane, therebyproducing a sharpened upper edge G. In Fig. 14 we have shown a terminalF of the form shown in Fig. 2 and oppositely beveled, as in the formshown in Figs. 8 and 11, above described, to produce the sharpened upperedge G and also a sharpened lower edge G. If desired, and as illustratedin Figs. 10, 11, and 14, the ends of the terminals may also be beveledor sharpened, as indicated at J.

It will be observed that in the various forms of terminals illustratedas exemplifications of our invention a flattened inner surface isproduced to lie flatwise against the side surface of the rail-tread andthat the upper edge of the terminalthat is, the edge presented towardthe tread-surface of the rail-"is reduced in thickness to a knife-edge,and these are characteristic features of our invention.

It is obvious that many variations and changes in the details ofconstruction and arrangement would readily suggest themselves to personsskilled in the art and still fall within the spirit and scope of ourinvention. e desire it to be understood, therefore, that our inventionis not limited or restricted to the exact details shown and described.

e are aware that it is common practice to bevel the edges of objects toavoid abrupt collision with other relatively moving bodies, and it mayhave heretofore been proposed to bevel rail-bonds for the purpose ofadapting them to their positions of use or to economize the metal; butsuch is not the equivalent of our invention, nor do we wish to claim thesame, because in our invention the beveling of the upper edge of thefoot or terminal not only prevents it from coming into abrupt collisionwith moving bodies, but it causes the terminal or foot to stick moresecurely to the rail and renders it less liable to be ripped off by ablow applied laterally to the side of the body portion. For.illustration, should the terminal D receive a laterally-directed blow atits lower edge it would exert a tendency to rotate or tip on its lowerinner corner, throwing the upper knife-edge outwardly, but the upperedge being considerably reduced in thickness and the rigidity of theterminal thereby greatly impaired it is unable to exert suflicient forceat its upper side to rip the thin feather-like edge away from the graspof the solder. When the terminal once starts to loosen at its upperedge, however, its entire security is destroyed, and it would be thusstarted. by a blow of the described character if made solid and rigidthroughout its vertical extent.

Having now set forth the object and nature of our invention and variousconstructions embodying the principles thereof, what we claim as new anduseful and of our own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The combination with a rail having a tread, of a bond provided with aterminal formed with a flattened surface for application against theside surface of the tread of the rail, and being reduced in thicknesstoward the edge thereof which is presented toward the tread-surface 0fthe rail.

2. The combination with a rail having a tread, of a bond provided with aterminal formed with a flattened surface beveled to the surface of therail at its upper edge and being soldered to the rail.

3. The combination with a rail having a tread, of a rail-bond providedwith a terminal formed with a flattened surface at its inner side andsoldered to the rail, said terminal being beveled from its lower edgeupwardly to the surface of the rail, terminating in a thin knife-edge atits upper edge, and a flexihis body portion at each end of which one ofthe described terminals is secured.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this 16th day ofDecember, 1904:, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE A. MEAD. CHARLES R. STURDEVANT.

WVitnesses:

G. N. GRANIERs, GEO. KEssnLnING.

